Mizzou Basketball 13-14

Mizzou Links: "PF legacy" sways Gant, Booker sets visits, and 12 days to football

The success of Laurence Bowers and Kim English at the "4" helped to sway JaKeenan Gant, Devin Booker sets his official visits, soccer opens with an exhibition win, and football season is approaching rapidly.

By Bill Connelly@SBN_BillC Aug 19, 2013, 5:10am CDT

Laurence Bowers' success evidently helped in JaKeenan Gant's decision-making process.

1. Hello, Jakeenan

Lots of takes on landing Jakeenan Gant
PowerMizzou: Commitment number two for Tigers
PowerMizzou: Missouri dips into Georgia for power forward
PowerMizzou: Mizzou has mom's vote
PowerMizzou: What Gant's commitment means for the scholarship situation
Post-Dispatch: Haith lands pledge from versatile forward
ZagsBlog: JaKeenan Gant to Mizzou
Al.com: Top 10 PF JaKeenan Gant chooses Missouri over Alabama, Georgia among others (w/video)
ESPN.com: JaKeenan Gant commits to Missouri Tigers
ESPN Insider: Scout's take: JaKeenan Gant a big boost for Missouri Tigers
KC Star: MU's power forward legacy helps Haith land top 2014 prospect

Despite his initial surprise at the quickness of the decision, Stokes thinks the fit makes perfect sense. He said Gant, who Rivals lists as the No. 44 player in the Class of 2014, watched a lot of MU tape and thought he’d be a nice fit in Haith’s spread pick-and-roll offense, which provides plenty of opportunities for a shooter at the power forward position. It’s no coincidence, perhaps, that since Haith arrived in 2011, both Kim English and Laurence Bowers had their strongest seasons of their collegiate careers.

"Bowers and English have flourished in his system so that kind of opened his eyes up to Missouri’s style of play," said Stokes, who added that Gant even likes to shoot from the top of the key, just like Bowers.

Oh yeah, and someone else has decided to set his official visits.

L-E-G-A-C-Y
The Trib: Gant commits; Booker schedules visit
ZagsBlog: Devin Booker Sets Four Officials

The 6-foot-5 Booker will trip to Michigan State (Sept. 6), Kentucky (Sept. 9), Michigan (Oct. 5) and Missouri (Oct. 19). He will also visit Florida. […]

Missouri coach Frank Haith and assistant Tim Fuller also watched Booker, knowing full well that his father, Melvin Booker, was a star there.

"That’s my dad’s alma mater," Devin said. "They’ve been recruiting me since the eighth grade also and they show a lot of love. I’ve been up there a lot and I have a good relationship with the coaching staff. We have a good relationship."

2. 12 days

KC Star: MU’s Mauk says he will continue to push Franklin
KC Star: MU offensive coordinator happy with tight ends
KC Star: Brothers and Ruise have to step up and fill void at linebacker for MU
PowerMizzou: PMTV-HD: Who is Gavin Otte?
Post-Dispatch: Does a St. Louis presence matter for Mizzou?

3. So how's soccer going?

Undefeated (in exhibition season)!
MUtigers.com: Mizzou Claims 3-2 Exhibition Win Over SMU
KBIA Sports: Missouri soccer wins exhibition game against SMU
The Trib: On The Record: Bryan Blitz

Blog: You lose two of the three top scorers from last season in Taiwo Adeshigbin (exhausted eligibility) and Abi Raymer (left the team) and assist leader Haley Krentz. How do you replace those people and who does it?

Blitz: We originally asked Dani (Danielle Nottingham) to play defender last year. We originally recruited her to be a forward. She's back up front. That's a piece, pushing a natural forward and goal scorer. That's one way.

I think that, obviously, (Alyssa) Diggs staying healthy is a big piece we want to do. You're seeing Taylor (Grant) and Reagan (Russell) are starting to live up to their potential. I think we have as good players that are ready to have a good year. I think the talent is there.

That junior class Kaysie Clark, seen a lot of leadership growth in her. I think she's wanting to help drive the program. Then you have McKenzie, the goalkeeper. She's really a senior, but a redshirted junior.

We have 25 kids and there's only eight seniors, but they've been there and done that and have started the whole time. Sophomores and freshmen, you never know how it's going to go with freshmen. Fifteen of our 25 are freshmen and sophomores, but again I think you have a good leadership group in front of them.

While we have focused on Jace Long and his post- Mizzou playing career, Malnati has finished in the top-25 in six of his first seven events and currently sits inside the all-important top-25 in earnings, moving up to 16th. Why is the top-25 important? Read this.

Music Monday

In a review I read a while back, somebody basically said they couldn't take My Morning Jacket seriously because they were basically a backwoods Coldplay, or something to that effect. That blew my mind. I was bored with Coldplay from the start, but these guys keep me interested, even when they're playing one of their quieter, janglier tunes. They can cover about 16 different genres, and Jim James' sense of melody is really, really impressive to me. And wow, are they phenomenal live.

Mizzou Links: "PF legacy" sways Gant, Booker sets visits, and 12 days to football

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1. Hello, Jakeenan

2. 12 days

3. So how's soccer going?

4. So how's volleyball going?

5. So how's baseball construction going?

6. SELF-SHARE

7. Interesting piece

8. WHATNOT

Music Monday

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